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Syndicate
Population centres The Syndicate has no one center of power or population it is not, in the traditional sense, a culture so much as a massive sprawling organisation of interconnected Merchants, Pirates, Criminals and other individuals whose primary goal in the Galaxy, to carve out profit, has caused them to band together into a single collective organisation. The Syndicate has a number of nomadic trading/pirate fleets, space stations and planetary bases where it conducts its business from but it isn't in the habit of planetary government, it prefers to pull the economic strings from behind the scenes. Government The Syndicate is governed by the Duru Shesh'ta (lit. 'Coin Masters) a ten-strong 'governing board' comprised of the ten most powerful leaders of the largest Syndicate factions. These powerful individuals are constantly in flux as while the Syndicate makes a big show of unity they are often engaged in back-room politics with each-other to out-compete and secure the largest control of the various 'markets' that the Syndicate exploits wit it's day to day business across the reaches of known space. The Syndicate is governed by a simple set of rules the Papyros Syndic ''or 'Articles of Syndication' that all factions consumed by the organisation are expected to obey; ''The Articles of Syndication We, the members of the Syndicate agree upon the following binding terms, should these terms be broken by any member of the Syndicate, then they shall be expelled and a black mark put upon them. Should their crime be heinous enough, than by mutual agreement of the Executive, they shall be hunted down with the full resources of the Syndicate, and destroyed. We the signatories affirm this document as a treaty by all parties in the mutual pursuit of freedom, wealth and profit. # All Signatories agree to the mutual defence of the Syndicate from outside forces, where profit, wealth and freedom of a Syndicate member are threatened, all members of the Syndicate will rally to their aid. # Always deal fairly and honestly with others, do not sell faulty product, always abide by the contracts you agree to, and always deliver. # No Syndicate member will traffic in slaves, for many of us came from slavery under the Goa’uld. # No Syndicate member will make deals, or knowingly trade with, a Goa’uld. # No Syndicate member will actively seek to hinder the profit of others, unless under the terms of friendly competition in the free market. # No Syndicate member will seek to harm another member of the Syndicate. # All members of the Syndicate are equal, even if they do not hold a place on the Duru Shesh'ta, there are no Lords amongst us, and no race will be excluded from participation. The Syndicate have been noted to enforce these rules heavily, sometimes to the SEF's advantage, when the Syndicate faction known as the Stormweaver Syndicate took over much of Earth's underworld, it was because the SEF could prove that they had dealt with Goa'uld that they were able to undermine the faction and force a change of leadership who agreed to withdraw their interests from Earth. It is worth noting however, that the Syndicate are also 'flexible' on their own rules, the greatest example of this being a willing to exploit the worlds they 'supply' via unfair contracts up to and including enforcing indentured servitude as a method of paying off dues. Professions The Syndicate is defined by professionals, every walk of life that can be turned into a profitable enterprise is welcomed among their ranks and beyond things specifically outlawed in the Articles of Syndication the Syndicate have someone for every job - this can make them a useful resource IF encountered when lacking resources in the depths of the Galaxy. The Syndicate can generally be trusted to not betray you if they are paid up, but ensure you draw up a signed contract with them otherwise their mercenary attitudes will likely see them turn on you if they get a better offer. Warfare The Syndicate have no unified way of warfare, they don't possess anything in the way of a true unified fighting force, their ships are various, usually stolen, often Goa'uld vessels. Pirates and Privateers are common among their ranks and prefer to conduct hit-and-run attacks rather than engaging their foes in a direct fight - they are badly equipped on the most part compared to most powers in the galaxy relying on Earth-adjacent firearms technology and stolen equipment from most powers in the galaxy. What they lack in uniform weapon quality they make up in rare and exotic weapons from regions of the galaxy as-yet un-visited by the SEF, meaning their firepower can vary wildly. What ground forces they do possess take the shape of Mercenary forces, a combination of former-Goa'uld slave humans, Jaffa and other alien species that form the irregular fighting forces it is able to call upon, for coin of course. Personalities Although there is one unifying drive behind every member of the Syndicate: Profit. There is no true unifying personality for a Syndicate member, the smooth, be-suited gangsters who represent the more 'refined' criminal edge of the Syndicate rub shoulders alongside the rough and aggressive Pirates of Colm Lugh's Fleet. Buisnesswomen walk alongside hawkers, the Syndicate is a true example of a melting pot of the cultures and personalities out there that the SEF has, and has yet to, encounter. Appearance The Syndicate have no single costume as, as noted above, they are not a single homogeneous culture but rather a mixture of various cultures that have allied under their banner, of those that have been encountered by the SEF there have been three distinct fashions; * Stormweaver Syndicate: 'One of the oldest powers in the Syndicate, the Stormweavers seem to have come from an advanced technological planet at some point, their clothing is sleek, and 'cyberpunk' they are well equipped dangerous gangsters and effortless infiltrators who previously compromised Earth's underworld. * '''Passione: '''The 'Made Men' of the Syndicate and an example of an Earth-ajacent development of an organisation not indistinct from the Sicilian Mafia, the Passione like to wear suits, and they like to conduct themselves in a polite, hierarchical manner, with bursts of extreme violence. * '''Colm's Pirates: 'Colm Mac Lugh has been encountered a number of times by the SEF, a Pirate (and whatever other job he feels like), Colm's forces appear to be a mix of human slaves and Jaffa formerly of the Goa'uld known as The Morrigan. They tend to wear a lot of blue and a lot of woad, but they are unmistakably 'space pirates'. ---- Technology *'''Spacefaring: Through theft, or their own technology, the Syndicate possesses the means to travel to any area of the Galaxy. *'Colonisers:' Though they are not 'colonisers' in the strictest sense, the Syndicate have spread their influence across the Galaxy, often through illicit means, for the many worlds who do not belong to the Alliance who are free of Goa'uld rule, the Syndicate are their lifeline. *'Explorers':Syndicate forces are constantly looking for opportunities, and as a result can be potentially encountered anywhere in the known Galaxy. Technology comparison *There is no point comparing Syndicate and Tau'ri technology, the vast array of weapons, ships, and other technological oddities held by the syndicate mean their technology can be anything from late-20th century to years ahead of anything encountered by the SEF - most of which is stolen. ---- History It's not known exactly when the Syndicate took it's current form, it is believed the kernels of the organisation existed long before the Tau'ri set foot on the Galactic stage, but the organisation in its current form is a product of the successes of the SGC, SEF and Alliance against the Goa'uld. With more worlds being freed from Goa'uld influence due to the fall of various System Lords, distant worlds not even encountered by the SEF have been left free, and confused and beyond the reach of other Goa'uld for re-conquest. It is these isolated worlds that the Syndicate has grown its business from. To hear the Syndicate argue their value to the Galaxy, they are the ones who have answered the calls of the isolated worlds, the free worlds left fending for themselves as a result of lack of care by the Alliance or Tau'ri. Which is, as with everything, only half the picture, as the Syndicate has demonstrated a will to relentlessly exploit the vulnerable and needy for its own profit and gain - it cannot be denied that it is a support mechanism for these worlds and until the Alliance looks to expanding it's influence instead of mutual defense it is all they have, but that does not make it a good force in the Galaxy. Recent History Despite being encountered in the early years of the UKGC and later SEF, the Syndicate has not played a major role in the galaxy until relatively recently, where factions of it have been both ally and enemy to the SEF; During SEF/14/Delta.37 the SEF were transported to a region of the Galaxy by Dagon known as the Reef - a series of worlds on the Galactic rim populated by exiles and pirates - there they encountered Colm Mac Lugh who, for the price of a few odd jobs, agreed to transport the SEF back to known space aboard the pirate vessel the ''Mac Tire. ''This led to a long-standing bond of friendship between Colm and the SEF which is not necessarily reciprocated by the SEF. However following the formation of the Alliance during SEF/15/Echo.38, a representative of the Syndicate from the Stormweaver Syndicate was able to learn of Earth's lack of a single united Government, seeing opportunity the Syndicate took advantage of Earth's weakened defenses after the death of Dagon to infiltrate the planetary underworld, forging an alliance with China to supply it with advanced weaponry from it's own foundries and smuggling operations. This led to the Syndicate assassinating Vladimir Putin in order to install their own regime in Russia, one that was more tolerant of its presence (and indeed less conservative as an unusually positive side effect). Thanks to the hard work of several Intelligence agencies supported by members seconded to the SEF, and an Alliance of convenience with Colm (whose ex-wife led the Stormweaver faction), the SEF were able to defeat the Syndicate faction on Earth and, with Colm elevated to the '''Duru Shesh'ta '''negotiated the withdrawal of the Syndicate from Earth, and the agreement to leave it well alone. Recent interactions ---- No Recent Interactions as of 15/01/2020 Back to Cultural Database Category:Cultures